


sp-ace-boy

by undeadsnorlax



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Asexual Character, Gen, Headcanon, Post-Series, Pre-Series, and even a little mid-series, i stan one clueless dumbass, the gang's all here just briefly so uh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-27
Updated: 2019-06-27
Packaged: 2020-05-20 11:23:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19375717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/undeadsnorlax/pseuds/undeadsnorlax
Summary: a series of vignettes in which Luther spends nearly thirty years being a little bit clueless





	sp-ace-boy

**Author's Note:**

> semi self-indulgent fic I wrote for the past like...week and a half to cheer myself up. which you can...probably tell, tbh, it's just a bunch of random scenes with the vague narrative of Luther being a dumbass
> 
> this headcanon aka _10% me going ‘fuck that bit of canon’, 20% projection, 70% space/ace pun opportunity_

When they were about eleven, Klaus brought in some magazine he'd gotten his hands on somehow. Whispered to each of the other boys to come to his room later that night as he stuffed it under his shirt.

Evening came and they snuck from their bedrooms to Klaus', where he was waiting on the bed, cross legged with a wide grin lighting up his face. They all huddled close, as Klaus lay the magazine down in front of them, cover first, on which was a lady with... _very_ conveniently placed boxes covering parts of her. 

"Holy crap," Diego mumbled.

"Where did you even find this?" Ben cried, elbowing Klaus in the ribs as his cheeks flushed pink.

" _Shh_! That is my little secret," he said with a giggle, flipping the magazine pages slowly, "Would've gotten another but, well...don't know if you guys would be interested in _that_."

Luther, who'd been frowning at the magazine, frowned at Klaus instead. "What do you mean?"

"...don't worry about it."

Five slammed a hand down on a page, his face going red.

"She's cute," he said softly, almost uncharacteristically so.

The other three mumbled their agreements, adding their own comments, but Luther was still frowning.

"Did you steal this?" he asked, giving Klaus a poke.

"What do you think?" he replied with a scoff, brows raised.

Somehow Luther managed to frown more, chest puffing out. "You shouldn't do that Klaus."

"Yeah, okay, I know-"

"You need to return it."

They all stared at him when he said that.

"Luther..."

"What? You're not meant to just take things."

"You don't... _return_ these things," Klaus hissed, throwing his hands in the air, "Just...enjoy it, okay?"

"They're just photos, what's so interesting-"

Luther cut off, the creak of floorboards coming from down the corridor. Five vanished in a quick flash of blue, whilst Luther, Diego and Ben scrambled back to their rooms without another word.

The next morning over breakfast, Luther kept bothering Klaus to return the magazine, giving some long-winded speech about why stealing was bad and he had to be an example and-

"Luther, just. Shut up." He groaned, rubbing between his eyes as he made his way through his cereal. "You don't just... _give back_ a porno mag you stole. It's weird even buying one. Just appreciate the gift I brought you three."

"It's just a boring magazine," Luther mumbled, allowing himself to flare down as he went back to his own breakfast, "Not even a good gift."

Klaus cocked his brow. "Did you not look at it?"

"Yeah." He shrugged, confused by his brother's tone, the way his voice lilted slowly. "It was just naked girls. Nothing cool. Like cars or something, I dunno."

Klaus nodded slowly then twitched a tiny grin, his voice going higher. "Okay. _Okay_."

"...what? What's so funny?"

"Don't worry about it, Luther. Don't worry at all."

Luther wanted to ask more, but they were hurried into finishing food before training.

Nothing ever came up again, so he dismissed it. Klaus was weird. That's all.

 

*

 

At some point, after the Umbrella Academy was fully public, they started getting far more letters through the door.

Fan mail.

Most of it was from kids. Younger ones writing in messy just about eligible scrawl with drawings they'd done, ones their age who asked them questions and wrote a little more in-depth.

It was always 'Dear Spaceboy' or 'To Number One' though. Never 'Luther'.

_Which was fine._

Sometimes Sir Reginald would let them respond, but mostly he'd scoff a little at the messages, only letting them keep them because Grace said how nice it was for them to get mail, how it was encouraging their work.

It was one such morning where an envelope was set out at his usual spot at the breakfast table. The writing on the front was a delicate cursive with hearts instead of dots over the i's.

Luther tore it open and read in between bites of toast, chewing thoughtfully. The same neat handwriting, introducing the writer as Chelsea, thirteen like them. She went on to write about a recent mission of theirs, a hostage situation that happened at a school – an event she was involved in.

_I've admired the Umbrella Academy for a while, but it was just breath-taking to see you work up close. It was super cool when you threw that one guy over your head and smashed some tables!_

Luther licked crumbs from his lips as he remembered that day. He definitely remembered that particular throw (the man was a bit heavier than he anticipated, nothing too bad for his strength, but he still managed to pull his shoulder out a bit for a few days), remembered turning to the students with his hands on his hips as he announced they were safe now, the looks of relief on their faces as he said that. This Chelsea girl must have been among them...

_I've always thought you were the best and coolest on the team, but seeing how handsome you were up close was overwhelming._

Luther, having decided to take a sip of orange juice, choked and spluttered, juice spraying across the table and over Ben and Vanya.

"Luther!" Ben cried, wiping droplets from his forehead, whilst Vanya just sat there with her lips pulled thin.

"Uhh. Sorry. Accident."

He glanced back down at the letter as Grace bustled over to help the other two clean up.

_Handsome._

_Weird._

"The hell was that for?" Klaus asked, elbowing him in the side, "That shocked somebody wrote to you?"

Luther shot a quick glare, folding the letter up and shoving it back into the envelope.

"No, the girl was just very nice to me."

"...nice?"

He shrugged, taking another safer sip of juice. "Thanked me for saving her. Said I was handsome. Being nice."

"Ya got an admirer then?" Diego asked with a teasing smirk, brow cocked.

Luther huffed, furrowing his own brow. "What? No, she's being nice."

"Nobody calls someone _handsome_ just to be nice." Diego's eyes darted towards the envelope quickly, something sparking in them.

"Mom calls us handsome," Klaus said, head tilted.

"That's different. She's our mother."

With a smirk, Diego snatched for the letter, taking it out. It took a few seconds for Luther to register the swift movement, but his brother was already reading the note.

"Yeah, this girl is smitten for you!" he cried, hand extended to block the rush forward from Luther, "Jeez, has she got eyes?"

"Diego, give it back!" Luther growled, going to grab him, but Diego ducked at the last second, scrambling from his seat as he kept reading.

"What, wanna keep this private between you and your girlfriend?" He snorted slightly. "Handsome! Honestly. Has she actually seen your face? The mask covers most of it."

Luther felt himself flush, as he lunged forward and tackled Diego to the ground with a yell, snatching the letter back and stuffing it in a pocket. Diego's eyes narrowed, darting around - Luther had the advantage here, but he could still fight back. Which he did, kicking his knee upwards into Luther's stomach, leading to the two rolling about on the ground taking swipes at each other.

"Boys...!" Grace said, voice raising, but she immediately cut off.

"Number One. Number Two."

Sir Reginald stood in the doorway, face dark as he stared down at them on the ground. The others looked away sheepishly, carried on with their breakfast. Luther and Diego exchanged a look and scrambled to their feet, heads bowed.

They took their punishment of running laps around the training facility without argument. It wasn't exactly hard for either of them, they irritatingly kept pace with each other, but it was still tedious.

"Look," Diego said once they finished, sitting on the floor with a bump to massage his feet, "I'm sorry for teasing. Wish I could get letters like that, I just get w-we-we-w-"

He scrunched up his eyes quickly and started again. "-Freaks who are obsessed with knives."

"You can have mine if you want," Luther mumbled, stretching out his back as he stared blankly at the ceiling.

"Huh? Why would you say that?"

Luther just shrugged. He didn't really know. Being complimented wasn't exactly bad. He felt some soft fuzzy sensation in his stomach about it, but something also felt... _weird_ to read it, knowing it was in such a way that he...didn't feel back.

"I'd rather they focus on what we do rather than... _that_." He shrugged again. "That's all."

Diego kept looking at him puzzled, but he dropped the subject with a huff.

"Well...okay. If you say so."

"...thanks. For apologising. Sorry for attacking you."

"...no problem."

They both knew it would be a few more weeks, maybe even days, before they would be arguing again, but for now the slate was clean.

With a slight sinking feeling of guilt as he did so, Luther tore up the letter that night and dumped it in his trash can, unable to pin down why he felt so weird about this random girl calling him handsome.

 

*

 

Luther swung his legs slightly, leaning back in his seat to try and peer out the window of the office. He could just about make out the other four ( _it felt weird to be a team of five now_ ), sat on chairs outside talking to the reporter, a woman in her thirties maybe who had introduced herself as Carol with a sickly-sweet smile.

He'd been given the run down. It was a teen magazine, the questions would be light and fluffy. He knew exactly what to avoid answering should they come up – Reginald had made sure of that. Some aspects of The Umbrella Academy were to be kept secret.

Finally, the door opened, and Carol walked in, that same smile as before on her lips.

"Sorry to keep you waiting Luther." She paused, tilting her head. "It is alright for me to call you that? Would you rather-"

"Luther's fine, ma'am." He sat up straighter as she sat opposite him at her desk.

She kept smiling. He never knew someone could smile so much. Other than Grace but… _y’know_.

"So, you understand what we're doing? Your siblings are just off doing a photoshoot whilst we have this chat. We're very interested to get to know you more, as are our readers."

Luther wrinkled his nose slightly, recognising the vaguely patronising tone a lot of adults took with them, even despite what they did. _Whatever_.

"Yes ma'am."

"No need to be so formal, you can call me Carol."

He glanced at the plaque with her name on it and relaxed his shoulders. _Act normal_. "Okay...Carol."

Carol's smile somehow grew, as she started the interview.

The questions were simple, to say the least. Favourite foods, movies, that sort of thing. Light and fluffy.

Luther fidgeted his hands against the side of the seat as he spoke, forcing himself to sound a bit more enthused. He didn't quite get why he was singled out for this particular magazine. He wasn't Allison, charming and sweet. Or Klaus, with actual charisma, though he was banned from giving solo interviews because of how freely he did speak - Dad didn't want to take that risk.

Ben was far shyer but still at least was 'the cute one', could pull off a chat like this. Diego had a similar sort of solo interview ban to Klaus, for different reasons though - the pressure got to him and he would get caught on every other word, cringing into himself as he grew more and more frustrated. Reginald didn't want the embarrassment.

Still didn't make sense why they chose Luther. He knew he wasn't exactly...interesting. He didn't think so anyway. Sure, he was the leader, but…

"Now this next question..." Carol's smile, ever so briefly, turned into a smirk. "Well, I'm sure a lot of our readers would be interested to know. Is there anyone special to you in your life?"

Luther felt his face turn bright red. "Wh-what?"

"You know...a crush." She chuckled, twirling her pen between her fingers. "You don't have to say her name, of course."

Some look sparked in her eyes as she added, "Unless you want to."

Luther made a small gurgling sound, eyes darting about the room. "Uhhh..."

_A crush?_ Why the hell would she ask that? Who did she expect he would say? He didn't know anyone outside of family. The most interaction he got was stuff like this, or the times when they were occasionally allowed to sign an autograph or two.

He overheard Klaus and Diego talk about crushes sometimes, some celebrities or whatever. Luther was always more interested in his books on the stars so never really listened. He couldn't cheat and repeat some nonsense they'd said.

He looked up at Carol, still staring at him expectantly. He shivered. She was craving something interesting, wasn't she? This magazine wasn’t exactly popular…

_Think, think..._

"Uhhh..."

She...didn't have to know he was lying. He could lie. Lying was easy.

"P...perhaps I do?" he said slowly, grinning nervously.

"Ohh? Really now?"

"Uh...yep!"

"And does she know?"

_Screw it_. This lady wanted a story and, well, this wasn't on the banned topics list. Or maybe it would've been if Reginald knew it would come up. _Whatever_.

"Yeah. She does. We..." What was a Normal Teen Thing™ to do? "We held hands at the movies."

He tried to not let his voice rise at the end, it was a statement, not a question. Carol nodded, scribbling down on her notepad without looking down.

"Anything... _more_?"

"... _more_?"

"Well, a kiss, of course."

"...of course."

Luther flashed a very forced smile, looking away.

_A kiss._

_He'd only kissed once. Allison had been curious, and they'd done it in her room. It was stiff and Luther felt his skin crawl, wanting to move away sooner but confused guilt kept him in place until Allison pulled back, blinking before she burst out laughing._

_"Oh my...I'm so sorry. This was dumb and weird. I shouldn't have dragged you into this."_

_"Uh. Don't worry. It's fine."_

It wasn't, and even thinking about it now made him feel weird. But all part of the act.

"Y...yeah. After the movie. On the cheek."

Carol let out a soft gasp. "How sweet! And are you two an official item then?"

_Crap_. This was actually a bad idea. Luther scratched the side of his head, cheeks going red.

"That's...private. Sorry."

"Ah, yes, I understand." She winked with a soft chuckle that made him squirm. "Young love. Well, suppose I can move on to the next question. What do you do to relax in your spare time, hobbies or such?"

Luther perked up at this, immediately barrelling into talking about his model planes, his record collection, all the stuff he learnt about space.

"Ah. So that's why they call you Spaceboy huh?"

Carol smiled politely, barely writing with the same energy as she had previously. Luther, out of habit, trailed off, finishing with a polite nod.

The interview was out a few weeks later and Luther would have forgotten all about it if Reginald hadn't summoned him to his office one day. It wasn't too unusual, but it was usually after a mission, asking him to report back. Not out of nowhere on a Thursday morning.

"Number One," he said, placing down the magazine on the desk so Luther could see it from where he stood, "You did well with this."

Luther bowed his head, about to thank him, the glow from the scrap of praise already there, but Reginald continued.

"Who is this girl you spoke about though?"

Luther stared at his shoes, a prickle of heat creeping up the back of his neck. His father's tone was stern, low. Usually yelling came next if he didn't come up with a satisfactory answer.

"She doesn't exist, sir," he said plainly, scuffing his foot against the carpet, "I made her up."

"Number One. Do not lie."

"I-I'm not." Luther looked up, brow furrowed. "The woman seemed to get more interested when she asked me about relationships, so I decided to play along. It wasn't on the list of things to not talk about. I’m sorry sir."

Reginald narrowed his eyes, then nodded, shuffling the magazine aside.

"If that's the truth. I trust you enough to not be sneaking off to...court and the like."

He scoffed, shaking his head as he muttered, "Unlike your siblings."

Luther just pursed his lips. Of course he knew the others would sometimes sneak out after hours, he could hear them. Klaus mainly, he was particularly good at it, but the other three would too at times, even Ben.

He never had much interest, quite content to stay in his room, alone.

 

*

 

Being alone became something of a theme in his life.

 

*

 

Luther got used to nobody when Ben died. The final straw for everyone, leaving the mansion.

The final straw for everyone apart from him.

He stayed.

He grew used to the quiet. He withdrew more than he ever had before. Focused on training, the occasional mission he still got sent on, but they were few and far between.

So, it was mostly him and his thoughts. Nothing more. For years.

He left the mansion, occasionally. A need to get fresh air, not be stuck staring at the same walls. He'd jog around the block, towards a nearby park, run around it two, three, five...he lost track how many times. Super strength led to a better stamina.

He stayed caught in his head most of the time, humming quietly to himself as his trainers beat in time against the floor. So caught in his head that one time he didn't notice another jogger just ahead until he'd slammed into them and tumbled on top of them on the ground.

"Oh, crap, sorry," Luther mumbled, scrambling to his feet hurriedly and sticking out a hand.

"Don't worry, it's fine." The person, a young man, maybe the same age or a little older, smiled, taking the hand and gasping as Luther tugged him to his feet with ease. "W-woah!"

"Uh, are you hurt?"

"No, seriously, it's fine, you're not..." The young man trailed off, eyeing Luther's biceps and blushing. "Well, perhaps you are _that_ strong but, no damage done. I'm Jack, by the way."

"...Luther."

Jack smiled at him and Luther managed a smile back, what felt like his first in a while.

Jack's eyes darted, suddenly groaning as he rubbed the back of his leg. "Though uh, maybe I could do with a rest."

He pointed at a nearby bench. "Care to join me?"

Luther blinked, glancing around the park. He wasn't expected back...well, at all, though dinner was in four hours. This wouldn't take long though.

"Sure. It's the least I can do."

They went to sit on the bench, Jack huffing and stretching out his leg, rubbing the knee.

"You've scuffed it."

"Doesn't even sting."

Jack kept smiling, his cheeks turning a slight shade of pink. "You from around here?"

"Not far. About three blocks away."

"Cool. You must have gone to Westbrock High, right?"

Luther shook his head, fingers tensing slightly in his lap. "No, me and my siblings were home-schooled."

"Oh, right. You in college now or...?"

"No. I...I just live at home."

He supposed he wasn't that recognisable from his Umbrella Academy days. The media coverage did drop off in the few months before Ben passed (then picked up again for a little after for the drama). In the few years since then, Luther had grown about seven inches, gained several pounds of muscle and generally aged into being a young adult, face covered with a light stubble.

Jack nodded. "Hah. Same here. Don't think college is for me, as much as my mom tells me I should go. Wants me to become a doctor."

He scoffed. "Mothers, ey?"

Luther thought of Grace, and frowned. "Uh. Yeah. You sure you're okay? No bumps anywhere else?"

Jack cocked a brow but still checked himself over, gesturing his elbows upwards to show they were scuffed too, but otherwise he seemed undamaged.

"See? All good. What about you? You fell too. I know I broke your fall but…"

"I'm fine," Luther said, waving a hand dismissively without even checking. He didn't need to, he'd suffered far worse before and still only came away with the same scraped joints as Jack.

"If you say so big guy. Cool tattoo, by the way."

Luther gulped, grabbing his wrist and lowering his head. "...thank you."

"I mean, bit weird, umbrella, but..." He trailed off, that quiet click of realisation Luther had been hoping wouldn't happen. "Wait, are you – were you in the Umbrella Academy?!"

Luther gave a thin smile and a small nod. "Yup. Number One."

"Oh, man, of course, the way you lifted me up then." Jack let out a laugh, giving him a slightly playful shove.

Luther jolted slightly from the unexpected touch. Jack tilted his head, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Sorry. I used to read the comics. Forgot you guys lived around here. I've never met someone famous before."

"I'm not really..." Luther sighed, giving a shrug as he stood up. Thinking of what used to be still felt a little raw. "I gotta go."

"C-can I have your number?"

Luther frowned, glancing back at Jack. "Huh?"

"Your number. So I can call you."

He blinked, the frown settling deeper. "I don't have a phone, and I don't think my father would appreciate me giving the home line out, sorry. Why would you want to call me, anyway?"

Jack stared wordlessly for a few seconds then laughed, slapping his face with his hand before standing up himself.

"Sorry. I got the wrong impression."

He laughed again, giving Luther a small slap across the back. "You're still cute though. See you around, maybe."

And with that, he jogged away.

Luther stared after, blinking cluelessly.

"...cute? The hell?"

 

*

 

In between research, there wasn't much entertainment on the moon.

Luther read, mostly. Large physical copies of short stories and poetry, a few worn classics. A database of literature on the base's computer he could scan through at his leisure.

Actually, he found himself getting deeply into poetry, far more than he ever expected. Perhaps if he wasn't always so caught up on physically training himself before...

He taught himself how to write it even, having the greatest muse right outside his tiny window. In his opinion, the inspirations of the greats were nothing compared to having literal space surrounding you, the Earth and every star, in the distance other planets vaguely visible.

A lot of the poems he read were about love. He wanted to express his excitement and passion and it seemed like the best place to look.

They were good, sure, but using such metaphors for people confused him. He stole and tweaked to make them about the comets that flew overhead, the specks of light he could spot as the moon passed around the planet.

That made sense. Those things were beautiful. No person could ever compare to space.

As scared as he sometimes felt out here.

Maybe that's what love was like too.

("Hm. That's a good line, actually. Gotta work that into something.")

 

*

 

_"I liked you a lot better before you got laid."_

 

Quietly, Luther agreed. He liked himself a lot better before too. Which was saying a lot, given he didn't really like himself at all.

In a rare spare moment he had during those last few days before the impending apocalypse, he kept remembering that girl. Angry that he couldn't remember her name.

Confused to why he felt...prickly remembering it in general. Not that he could remember, beyond knowing he'd had sex during a manic episode fuelled rager, with a random girl he met at a rave.

_Very out of character._

But the thought that he'd done that, made him...he wasn't sure.

Uncomfortable?

It made him the same way as he did when his nails scraped chalk when he was younger, this uneasy squirm that manifested in him scrunching his face up whenever he did. That was discomfort, right?

Regardless, he felt weird. He trusted Klaus to not bring it up, so he could forget the hangover and the unease, but he supposed he deserved it. Looking back, he was being a dick.

Still.

He couldn't shake that feeling. He just wanted to forget about it all.

 

*

 

Six months passed since the apocalypse. Or the never-actually-happened-apocalypse. The nearly-pocalypse.

God, Luther hated time travel. He got migraines just thinking about it. If he never did it again, it would be too soon.

Regardless. Things were falling into some kind of normalcy, as close as they could get it anyway.

One of his goals was to force himself to interact more with his siblings, and so far it had been working. Gym sessions with Diego, movies with Five, quiet and contemplative brunches with Vanya, walks in the park with Allison. Ben was a bit more unpredictable, as Klaus grew used to making him more consistently physical and such, but mostly Luther read for him, even when he couldn't see him.

Klaus was equally unpredictable, but mainly because he never kept it consistent on what he wanted his designated solo Luther time to be. Sometimes it was seeing some weird play because he wanted to support a friend from rehab who'd gone fully clean, other times it was hours spent inside a thrift store - though those prove useful for Luther at least. He was braving leaving the house without his heavy coat, even slowly working his way from turtlenecks to long-sleeved t-shirts, and Klaus had such a better idea of fashion.

Either way, it was usually something a little relaxed. Which is why Klaus suggesting clubbing one night surprised him.

"Are you...sure?" Luther asked slowly, eyes narrowing as he looked his brother up and down.

_Addiction's a bitch_ , Klaus often said, and staying clean was a struggle, especially with an emotionally stunted family trying to learn to care for each other again.

Luther paused and sighed softly, scratching his arm uncomfortably. "I mean, for both of us..."

"Ben has promised to kick the shit outta me if I have anything," Klaus said, gesturing to his empty side with his thumb, something everyone was quite used to. "And, well. You know. Last time was triggered by something, I think you’ll be better without emotions like that driving you. I just thought you might want to, you always seemed to enjoy dancing."

Which was maybe partially true. Luther couldn't dance, he just flailed about excitedly to the music, but it was still fun.

Still, he hesitated and Klaus clicked his tongue.

"We don't have to. Honestly, I was just thinking about dancing. Laying loose for a night."

"...if you promise to hit me if I get too rowdy."

"Of course, big guy."

Klaus did his research – he chose a quieter club having a 80s pop night, knowing that would appeal. Luther ordered one small beer for himself and a lemonade for Klaus, and they sat in a booth a little away from the action, quiet enough that they could still chat.

It took a little more relaxing and concentrating, but Ben appeared with a soft flicker, looking almost completely solid, a soft blue haze still surrounding him for a couple of seconds. No one batted an eye; they never did for some reason.

"For the record, I also thought this was a bad idea," he said as he did appear, folding his arms on the table.

"You think at least eighty percent of my ideas are bad," Klaus scoffed, shaking his head playfully, "Besides, it's fine, right Luther?"

Luther hummed softly in agreement, taking a sip of his beer as he inadvertently found his foot tapping to the beat of the music.

They waited for the club to fill up a bit before making their way to the floor, Ben sticking where he was to watch their drinks and seats.

Luther, still painfully aware of his size, forced them to hover at the edge of the crowd, a bit too uneasy to dive in that hard. Klaus nodded with understanding, already starting to weave his body to the music, face lit up in a grin. Luther swayed slightly on the spot, staring at the ground.

_Wasn't the right time, the right beat..._

"C'mon big guy!" Klaus cried, pawing at his arm, "Show these losers what you got!"

"Okay, okay!"

The song changed, _Girls Just Wanna Have Fun_ , and Luther started to sway more, a smile growing on his lips as he heard Klaus whoop encouragingly.

As the song went on, he started to brave a bit more, raising his hands up to his chest, pumping a fist up in time with the music, all the while Klaus performed his usually over the top motions.

The song finished and somehow flawlessly melded into _You Spin Me Round_ , which hyped the two up more. Luther, with a relaxing of his shoulders, decided to just go for it, shuffling in a small circle and grinning, laughing along with Klaus.

Sure, people were staring, but they would be anyway, he was over six-foot-tall, ridiculously muscular and wearing a long-sleeved button up and fingerless gloves at the club, as well as being paired with Klaus' usually garish apparel.

But he didn't care. He was having fun.

After a few songs, Klaus made a drink gesture with his hand before pointing back at the table and Luther had to agree. The two slumped in the booth, panting and grinning as Ben scoffed at them.

"You two dance like total idiots," he said teasingly, leaning on his elbow, "Caught some attention..."

"Huh?"

A guy and girl made their way towards their table, both blushing and giggling.

"Hey, sorry," the guy said, pointing at the empty spaces in the booth, "You mind if we sit here for a bit?"

Klaus gave a quick glance at the other two before shuffling up closer to Ben.

"Knock yourself out!"

They all introduced themselves – the guy was Bradley, the girl was Skye.

"We saw you dancing just now," Skye said, crossing her legs as she looked up at Luther, "You two are _wild_. Friends, or...?"

"Brothers," Luther said, pointing at Ben and Klaus with the top of his bottle.

"Septuplets, you could say," Klaus chuckled, "Big guy here needs to lay loose every so often. Real _ape_ otherwise."

Luther kicked Klaus under the table, narrowing his eyes, but Klaus just winked back.

"Wow, seven of you though?" Bradley cried, clasping his chest, "That sounds wild!"

Klaus snorted into his hand, which got him another small kick from Luther. Ben just grinned.

"Dude. You have no idea."

They kept chatting for a little while longer, during which time Luther finished his drink and wanted another. He said as much, grinning sheepishly at Skye so she would move out, which she did, before saying how parched she was too. The both of them made their way around the dance floor towards the bar.

"This your first time here then?" she asked. She leaned on one elbow, biting her bottom lip slightly as a finger curled around a loose strand of hair.

"Huh? Oh, yeah." Luther found himself involuntarily bobbing up and down with the music, studying the drinks in the back fridges. "I uh...I've only done this the once. Kind of. Rather not think about it."

"Real party animal huh?" she said with a giggle, placing a hand on top of his as he leaned forward on the bar.

He blinked but paid it no attention otherwise, trying to flag down the bartender.

"Well. You could say that." Subconsciously, he adjusted his shirt collar, tugging it up his throat a bit more. Didn't want to freak her out.

Skye just giggled more, practically wrapping herself around his arm, slowly tracing one finger down its length.

"So. You single?"

"Yeah, I am."

What a weird question. Again, Luther tried to catch the bartender's attention, but was ignored once more. “Urgh, c’mon.”

"You're so... _thick_ ," Skye said, giving his bicep a small squeeze with her hands, dwarfed compared to him.

"Uh...thank you?"

Was that a compliment? It sounded nice, but also like a weird roundabout way to call him fat or something.

_God_ he needed another drink.

"Hey, is there anything you'd recommend here?" he asked, turning his head, "I might just get a cola but-"

Which gave her enough time to pull him down to her height and press her lips against his.

Luther stood there gormless, eyes wide open as they darted about. Of course, this didn't look too out of place, there was plenty of other couples kissing, but none as awkwardly as they were.

He supposed he could push her away, but he was still mastering a gentler touch, and the last thing he needed was to be shoving a random girl through a wall.

The moment her tongue touched his lips he pulled back quickly, face bright red.

"...I need the bathroom."

Skye grinned, made like she was going to follow him, but he shook his head, rushing away before she had a chance. Once in the bathroom, he leaned against the nearest sink, staring at his reflection with a frown.

"... _eurgh_." He stuck his tongue out. "Gross."

He felt a chill breeze across his back, and suddenly Ben was by his side. His form flickered a little, which implied Klaus was losing concentration...

"You good?" he asked, tilting his head, "I saw what just happened."

"It's fine," Luther sighed. He shot a quick glance at the door before taking off his gloves for a moment to splash his face with water. "It was just a kiss. I guess."

"I know, but you just seemed...like you weren't enjoying it."

"I wasn't, that's why." He stuck his tongue out again. "She did just do it without me realising. Don't see the appeal, anyway."

"...you never have, have you?"

Luther watched his reflection, dripping with water, as his brow raised, and he glanced over at Ben. "What?"

"Do you...ever think about people?" Ben said slowly, jumping up to lean on the edge of the next sink, before clarifying, "In terms of a relationship, I mean."

"...no. I don't." Luther sighed, patting his hands dry on his jeans before putting his gloves back on. "Where are you going with this?"

Ben let out a small _'hm'_ , rubbing the back of his head as he thought.

"So...being with Klaus all this time, I've met a lot of people. All walks of life and stuff."

He took a deep breath. "Including all his hook-ups. There was a time when he was clean for a lot longer than usual, where he got with this person, and they were asexual."

Luther blinked. "Okay...?"

"Do...you know what that is?"

He shook his head and Ben went _'hm'_ again.

"It's...it's no sexual attraction to anyone. Them and Klaus broke up because they eventually realised they were also aromantic..."

He trailed off, narrowing his eyes at the ceiling. "And Klaus had gone off the rails again but that's...irrelevant. Take it you don't know what aromantic is either?"

"Can't say I do."

"Well, it's no romantic attraction." Ben raised his brows. "Do you...get where I'm going with this?"

Luther did, some little lightbulb above his head flickering on, kinda dim but still there.

"You think I'm...those?" he asked, hunching in on his shoulders.

"I can't tell you how to identify but..."

Ben gave a shrug, his form flickering again, his edges turning hazy and blue. Klaus was definitely not concentrating.

"I dunno. You always switched off whenever we talked about girls growing up. You looked really panicked after that... _one time_. I just...thought I'd tell you about it. Just in case, I guess."

Luther went back to staring at his reflection. The lightbulb was getting brighter, powered by sudden flashes of memories that now made so much sense.

"...oh!"

He smacked his forehead with a small snort of laughter. "Holy shit..."

**Author's Note:**

> just gonna leave this [dumb comic](https://twitter.com/UndeadSwine/status/1133523107212419072) I made here too lmao, in lieu of an actual 'Luther comes out to his family' scene because I didn't know how to write it without it being. all my sexuality headcanons all at once I guess.
> 
> ignoring my...other TUA fic for a moment, I am still getting used to writing these characters so that's probably why I feel it's messy? idk


End file.
